Savage

Early days

Born in South Auckland, New Zealand on June 28th 1981, Demetrius Savelio enjoyed hip hop music from a young age. It was in these days that he got his stage name. “Back in the days when I was bustin’ to my friends, one of them said I sounded like a savage. I joked about and laughed, but then I liked the name" he said. Savage joined up with his friends to form a hip-hop group, the Deceptikonz, in 1997. However, success was not instant as the group struggled through several talent shows and small gigs. Their big break finally came in 1999 when, thanks to a cousin of Savage, they were signed to NZ hip hop label Dawn Raid Entertainment.

Dawn Raid

[edit] The Deceptikonz

Released in March 2002 the Deceptikonz album, Elimination, which includes the song "Fallen Angels" reached #4 on the New Zealand Top 40 albums chart.

[edit] Solo career

Savage recorded over 40 songs during a 12 month recording regime before finally selecting the final line up for his album Moonshine

Production duties on the project were handled by Mareko, Nate D of R.E.S, Adeaze Alavante and Atlanta resident Sol Messiah, who had flown to New Zealand and spent two weeks manning the drum machine and keyboards at Dawn Raid Studios.

Savage worked with R&B singer Akon on a remix of Akon's US top 10 hit "Locked Up". The international remix with Savage on the A-side also features Styles P from the Ruff Ryder label.